I was following a link in an article one of you posted about Paraguay.

http://www.cumorah.com/index.php?target=view_other_articles&story_id=511&cat_id=30

They were talking about this tribe that was receptive to the church - but had some "challenges". Granted, the church has been there 30 years,so I guess that counts for something. But it sounded like it was only due to the good graces of the local mission president, as it was noted that other MP's had abandoned similar areas long ago.

So what happens when they give up on an area? Here are some excerpts from what the report stated about the area:

"The Church has maintained a presence among the Nivaclé for three decades notwithstanding remote location, a small target population, and destitute living conditions. . .
The lack of economic development and financial self-sufficiency poses the greatest barrier to LDS growth among the Nivaclé as many do not have a sufficient amount of food or adequate housing to meet their basic needs. . . Some full-time missionaries report that some Nivaclé members have become dependent on the Church to meet their basic living needs.

The outlook for future LDS Church growth among the Nivaclé appears mixed due to pervasive poverty, unemployment, and low living standards. . . The establishment of an LDS primary or secondary school in Boquerón Department with an emphasis on developing specific labor skills for students may be an effective method to ensure a long-term presence and to meet local needs without fostering dependence on the international church."

The prosperity gospel doesn't do well with poverty. You can't shake coins out of an empty purse.

"Prosperity Gospel" is a new term to me.

It doesn't sound kind.

Christ will rain prosperty on the Earth, and the Earth will be renewed and receive its Phariseeasical glory.

It isn't.

Though repeated throughout the most correct book on earth, the Book of Mormon, we just learned in conference that this teaching is no longer true. That's a shame...

From Elder Oaks:

"Those who believe in what has been called the theology of prosperity are suffering from the deceitfulness of riches. The possession of wealth or significant income is not a mark of heavenly favor, and their absence is not evidence of heavenly disfavor."

LDS is a prosperity gospel, so there's a critical disconnect here. It takes a serious investment of time, money, and human capital to effectively proselytize a remote people group.

Christian missionaries typically take up residence with such a population, and live with them (and their culture, diet, lifestyle, etc.) for at least a few years before getting any traction with their religion. Then they spend decades there, developing local people for church leadership, and indigenous missionaries for nearby villages and tribes.

So the likelihood of twenty-year-old men getting much done over an 18-20 month hitch doesn't strike me as very good.

Might as well be describing the Pine Ridge in South Dakota. In Pine Ridge village the church closed its chapel, but the Red Cloud Indian School is a Catholic high school on the Pine Ridge and has become one of the best schools in the United States, with a high percentage of Gates scholarships and graduates going on to college and into advanced degrees. The Mormon church has failed in its Lamanite missions in the United States and all they can do is resort to goose bump raising, half fake stories like that one in Paraguay.

That's something that needs to be documented, the sad story of the wooing and then dumping of the Lamanite people by la iglesia mormona.

Dear Lamanites, we have identified you as our lost brethren. We will be there soon to claim you for our own!


Dear Lamanites, we are here among you, you remnants of Israel. We will woo you and win you and your skins will become pale and thus more beautiful!


Dear Lamanites, please, we love you. Meet us at the chapel so we can proceed with this courtship!


To whom it may concern: Eff you.

"without fostering dependence on the international church"

and just how much would that "dependence" actually cost, anyway? after all, they describe the people as "a small target population" so it couldn't be very much...

i mean, TSCC can drop billions to keep up the facade of a vibrant downtown SLC but can't be bothered with the very real physical needs of actual people

this alone should speak volumes to anyone that actually believes what's in their BoMs